


The Wanderer Comes Home

by ladymac111



Series: The Doctor and the Teacher [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-04
Updated: 2013-01-04
Packaged: 2017-11-23 14:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/623179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladymac111/pseuds/ladymac111
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I'm really a lot like you, Tim.  Lonely, no place to call home, eager to see what the universe has to offer.”</p>
<p>Rating for a couple of swear words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wanderer Comes Home

The smoking had stopped, but the Doctor was still hard at work, halfway under the TARDIS's central console. He had his shirtsleeves pushed up to his elbows, and sweat was beginning to break out at his temples. “Fucking piece of garbage.” He tried the sonic screwdriver again, and then made a frustrated noise and went in with his bare fingers before pulling back with a small yelp of pain.

Tim bent over and pulled the staple remover out of his pocket. “Would this help?”

The Doctor looked at it in astonishment. “Did you know, a staple remover is one of the five most useful tools in the universe?”

Tim smiled. “I got it as a gift from my master teacher when I finished my training.”

“You should send him a thank-you note,” the Doctor said, taking it and tossing his sonic screwdriver to Tim, who caught it awkwardly. The Doctor poked within the panel. “This thing might just save our arses.”

“Really?”

“I wish you'd start believing what I say. I haven't lied to you yet.” There was a loud crack, and the Doctor made a sound of triumph. “Aha! Told you so.”

“Yet?”

“What? Oh.” They traded tools, and Tim wiped at the blackened bits on the staple remover's prongs. “Nothing personal, of course. I'd certainly never _want_ to lie to you. It's just some things are inevitable, you know?”

Tim nodded. “Yeah. I know.”

The Doctor pounded the panel cover back on, and got to his feet. He paused when he saw Tim's downcast face. “Hey.”

Tim glanced up. “What?”

“Don't take it like that, okay?” The Doctor smiled, and was rewarded when Tim's lips quirked up as well. “I … I like you a lot, Timothy Lassiter.” He patted his arm quickly and circled around to the other side of the TARDIS controls.

Tim laughed and followed him. “Are you coming on to me, Doctor?”

“Who, me? Never!”

“Well.” Tim crossed his arms with a grin. “Hard to tell with a fellow like you. All mysterious. I hardly know anything about you, other than that you're some sort of alien. Any other secrets I ought to know about?”

“Just the one is fine,” the Doctor said distractedly, checking the various readings the TARDIS was giving him. “I mean, sorry, that's about all there is. Last of the Time Lords pretty much sums me up.”

“Everything you've said just raises more questions, though. Come on, you know loads about me, and we only just met two days ago. My sister, my career, such as it was. My complete and utter lack of a love life. I don't know any of those things about you.”

The Doctor looked at him, and considered for a moment before he spoke. “I'm really a lot like you, Tim. Lonely, no place to call home, eager to see what the universe has to offer.”

“You really haven't got anyone anywhere?”

“Now it sounds like you're coming on to me.”

“I'm serious. You're the last of your kind, and you're very old, and you know a lot about humans and Earth, so presumably you've been around us for a while. Have you been alone this whole time?”

“No, not … not exactly.” He sighed and rubbed his face. “I've had other companions, before.”

Tim bit his lip. “What happened to them?”

“Lots of things.” The Doctor's face grew dark. “For a variety of reasons, they all leave, in the end. Sometimes I leave them first, but they would have done anyway. You humans, you always want to settle down. But me, I can't. I have to keep on going, always.”

“What were the others like?”

“A lot like you.” The Doctor sighed. “Smart, adventurous. But in the end, still human.”

“You say that like it's a bad thing.”

He shook his head. “I'm not making it come out right. You humans, you're _incredible_. I've only shown you the tiniest fraction of what the human race will achieve in this universe, Tim. It's immense, unbelievable, except I've seen it for myself.” He paused. “And I think, that's the problem. I'm not human. I'm fundamentally different from you. I've been around for so long, and seen so much, there's just always going to be an imbalance between me and you.”

“What's so bad about that?” Tim said softly. “No two people are ever equally matched. That'd be boring, I think. In a great relationship you want someone who complements you, not a duplicate of yourself.”

“You've got a lot to say on the subject, for someone with no close relationships.”

Tim raised his eyebrows. “You've got a lot of cynicism for a man who can travel anywhere in space and time.”

They looked at each other for a long, tense minute, then simultaneously broke into giggles. “Sorry,” the Doctor said, gasping for breath. “I need a bit of perspective once in a while.”

Tim waved his hand. “No, no, it's fine. I need to get my feet on the ground sometimes. I've spent so long wishing for a different life, I forget what is and what isn't realistic.”

“Oh, come on, you're not being silly. I'm a grouchy old man and you're a breath of fresh air, you're good for me. Like you said, I think we complement each other.” He sat down, and patted the seat for Tim to join him as the TARDIS sailed smoothly again. “I was looking for someone to share in my adventure, and you were looking to get out of your rut. I'm sure that's why the TARDIS brought me to you.”

“Yes, I was meaning to ask how you found me. It just dropped you off in the park there?”

“Wasn't where I was aiming for,” the Doctor admitted. “Happens a lot. But these things have a way of working out. I'm not certain anything in my life is really a coincidence.”

Tim grinned. “So you're saying we were fated to meet?”

The Doctor gave him a mock stern look. “Don't you start talking about fate, sonny boy, you don't know the first thing about causality in time travel.”

Tim tucked his feet up on the cushion and wrapped his arms around his knees. “Suppose not. I remember doing light cones in the one astrophysics class I managed to take at university, and this little jaunt we just took blows all of that right out of the water. Einstein's conclusions about causality clearly don't apply to us.”

The Doctor nodded. “Relativity's true, it's just not the whole story.”

“Amazing,” Tim breathed, looking around at the TARDIS. “I'd always wondered if that was the case. If Galileo and Newton could be partially correct, why not Einstein? No one ever wanted to talk about that, though. And my students couldn't even grasp the basic concepts, even if I were to bother confusing them with the biggest scientific questions of our age. They just want to know how far away the galaxies are, even though they have no concept of what the answer actually means.”

“Space really is unfathomably huge.”

Tim smiled. “I always thought, if I ever really saw the true scale of the universe, I'd go mad from how insignificant I was.”

“You're not insignificant,” the Doctor said softly.

“Instead, I can't get enough of it. I love how much there is, how enormous everything is. I love being even just a tiny part of this billion-year machine.” He blinked, and turned to the Doctor. “Sorry, you said something?”

“Oh, no.” He got up. “Nothing important. We're here, by the way.”

“What? Where?”

“Glastonbury.” The Doctor pulled the door open. “I've brought you home.”

Tim stepped out into the late afternoon sunshine and looked around at the trees, then across to the school. “How much time has passed?”

“Well.” The Doctor stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I tried to bring us back just a few hours after we left, but the TARDIS isn't as precise as she used to be.”

“Yeah, you said.” Tim started towards the school, then stopped and turned back to the Doctor, who was still standing in front of the TARDIS. “Um. Why are we back here?”

“Oh. Well, you know.” He looked down at his shoes in the grass. “You've got things to do, I suppose.”

“No I haven't.” Tim grimaced. “Without my job, I've got nothing. And you're just dropping me off here? End of the line for Tim the Adventurer?”

The Doctor looked up. “It doesn't have to be.”

Tim let out a relieved sigh. “God, for a minute I was afraid. You must know there's no way I can go back to being a small-town teacher after _that_. There's no way I can go back to anything here.”

“So you're saying you'll come with me?”

“Try and stop me!” Tim grinned, and then his face fell slightly. “Except, well, there are a couple things I should get in order before we go. Finish clearing the crap out of my classroom, lock up my house. Change of clothes, probably.” He glanced at the school, then back towards the Doctor. “You'll wait for me? While I get ready?”

The Doctor smiled. “I'll even help, if you like.”

An hour later, Tim locked the deadbolt on his small house and shouldered his large bag as the Doctor picked up the smaller one. “All right, that's everything, I think.”

“What about calling your sister?”

“Oh, of course! Right.” He fished his mobile out of his pocket and tapped the speed dial as they walked. “Hello, Cynthia, it's Tim. Yes, I'm great, actually. I won't be coming to stay with you after all. I've decided to do some travelling with a friend.” There was a long pause. “Yeah, no, don't worry about that. It's just I'll probably be out of touch for a while.” He smiled a little as his sister spoke. “Well, tell Mark that Uncle Tim's sorry he's not coming to visit, but I'll try to find some time to swing by later.” Another pause. “Thanks, same to you. Bye.” He looked at the phone in his hand. “I don't suppose this will work where we're going. Should have left it behind.”

“Not necessarily. Give it here.” The Doctor took Tim's mobile, and after a few moments of work with his sonic screwdriver, handed it back. “You've been upgraded. Universal roaming. Anywhere we go, this will work.”

“What, really?” Tim turned it over in his hand. “Going to cost me a fortune, isn't it?”

The Doctor laughed. “You know, I've never thought to check. In any case.” They reached the TARDIS, and he pushed the door open. “Welcome home, Tim.”


End file.
